Beyond Watson and Crick
DNA as a Building Material

Images provided by speaker

Nearly 30 years ago, Ned Seeman proposed to use DNA as a set of programmable molecular tinkertoys. His goal was to create 3D latticeworks for protein crystallography and scaffolds for nanoelectronic devices. Today, such crystals have been achieved—and much more. We can now fold long strands of DNA, origami-like, into any desired 2D or 3D shape, and these 100 nm single molecules can be decorated with components at 5 nm resolution. How will we use these structures, turn them into functional devices, and integrate them with conventional microfabrication? Initial attempts to answer these questions will be discussed, including the precise positioning of DNA origami on silicon and the use of DNA origami to create a carbon nanotube field effect transistor.

Anyone outside NIST wishing to attend must be sponsored by a NIST employee and receive a visitor badge. For more information, call Kum J. Ham at 301-975-4203.